DAGMAWI BEGASHAW
ENGL 1102
DOCTOR REBECCA WEAVER
MAY 2, 2022
Effect of Employment on Student Academic Success
For many undergraduates, working is now a fundamental responsibility. Students work jobs for different reasons and vary from one student to the others. Some of the reasons why students work are as follows: To help them pay for their tuition, and personal expenses, to help a family member with bills, and for the experiences for future careers. Some students receive work-study funds as part of their financial aid packages, while others are not eligible for such funds or find that such awards are insufficient to cover the costs of attendance. As Carol Kasworm, professor of adult education at North Carolina State University, and other contributors to Understanding the Working College Student point out, work is an integral part of many students’ identities(Perna).
Well, how does employment affect the academic success of students? Students’ academic performance can be negatively and positively impacted by their employment during school. Since students have fixed time resources, time spent working might substitute for time spent on academic, social, leisure, or extracurricular activities. This can negatively affect academic performance, social integration, or student Well-being. For example, time spent working may crowd out time spent studying.
On the other hand, working has benefits that could improve academic performance for some students. Occupational activities can complement academic lessons by providing applied context, and work time could encourage students to use their time more efficiently by providing structure to students’ schedules. Working also aids in the development of soft skills that have value in both academic vocational settings, such as communication, problem-solving, adaptability, responsibility, organization, and working under pressure. Some types of work, research opportunities with professors, or jobs that employ a large number of peers, may aid in campus and social integration.
GPA is an important factor that determines whether employment affects students’ academic performance positively or negatively. One would intuitively conclude that, because time and energy are finite resources, jobs would detract from studying and be harmful to a student’s GPA. This is only the case when the student works more than 20 hours a week, according to most studies. In fact, students who work fewer than 15-20 hours often report higher GPAs than those who do not work at all (Dundes). If you ask a faculty member or administrator how much a student should work in a paying job in order to succeed academically. The answer will probably be 10-15 hours. Students who worked on campus had higher grades than those who worked off-campus, according to the research
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which is run by the U.S. Department of Education, found that students working 1-15 hours weekly have a significantly higher GPA than both students working 16 or more hours and students who don’t work at all. The NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.
It has been reported that 74 percent of student workers believed that employment forced them to become more efficient. However, 64 percent reported that employment also increased their level of stress Dundes and Marx(2006). Several studies concluded that only on-campus employment influenced academic performance positively. Lederman (2009) reported on a study done by Gary Pike (2004), that working more than 20 hours a week has a negative impact on students’ grades whether on or off-campus. However, the study also found that students who work 20 hours or less on campus report higher levels on all five levels of engagement used by Pike and his co-authors The positive effects of on-campus employment are due to enhanced integration with the institution, including involvement with other students and with faculty
Working more than 20 hours a week off-campus increases the likelihood of students dropping out before completing their degrees. Those who work full-time are 10 percent less likely to receive a degree than those who work part-time or don’t work at all (Orszag). However, working 20 hours or less per week on campus did not seem to have an effect on drop-out rates compared to students who did not work. Students who worked 20 hours per week or less on campus did not seem to experience a higher dropout rate compared with those who did not work. According to Astin (1975), having a part-time job on campus increases the chances of the student completing college.
The effect of academic success in school on postschool earnings appears to be smaller than older estimates suggest. But Student employment, however, has an additional, positive effect working on the campus was associated with a higher probability of enrolling in post-graduate education (Ehrenberg)
Well, how can we avoid students from spending too many hours in their jobs? There are numerous suggestions for how to help working students succeed in college. These include offering courses in the evenings, on weekends, and in distance education formats; establishing course schedules in advance; offering students access to academic advising and other support services at night and on weekends. Through career counseling and occupational placement, colleges and universities can also assist working students in connecting their educational and professional journeys.
Although working a large number of hours (20+) can be detrimental to students’ academic success, part-time (specifically on campus) jobs can be very beneficial in many ways. Working a moderate number of hours often correlates with a higher GPA. Moderate work hours are often associated with higher GPAs
It is very important for students to be aware of how many hours they work. The line between overworking and being detrimental is ambiguous, overworking may lead to decreased productivity. Many students also believe that working generally is determintal to their academic success They don’t realize that working in moderation can increase efficiency and organization and teach important skills that will augment their post collegemarketability.
Some universities like Brigham Young University have a limit of twenty hours that students can work on campus each week. A limit like this is highly suggested. Between fifteen and twenty hours a week appears to be the point at which working starts to become more detrimental than beneficial for students. Student employment offices at universities should encourage students seeking financial aid to consider part-time employment on campus. Student employment offices should also provide students with resources to learn time management. Those students who learn time management are most likely to excel in both school and work
Citation
Laura W.Perna “Understanding the Working College Student” https://www.aaup.org/article/understanding-working-college-student#.YmSAlu3MJD9
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Digest
of Education Statistics, 2014 (NCES 2016-006), Chapter 3.
Dundes, L. and Marx, J. (2006). Balancing Work and Academics in College: “Why do
Students Working 10-19 Hours Per Week Exce”l? Journal of College Student
Retention, 8(1) 107-120.
Orszag, J.M, Orszag, P.R. and Whitmore D. M. (2001). “Learning and Earning: Working
in College”. Commissioned by Upromise.
Thomas J. Kane and Cecilia Elena Rouse “The Community College: Educating Students at the Margin Between College and Work”
